Avanta
Avanta is a relatively new country, having been formed 450 years ago by a power crazed lord who lived alongside the southern part of the River Tarala. It is a distinct part of national character to try to expand their borders, which they quickly did, establishing a strip of land bordered on the west by the Great River stretching to the Atarthic Sea to the east. However, they quickly became enemies of Cretasnia, which lies to the northwest. This has provoked a series of wars which has drawn the attention of both countries onto the other, becoming almost an obsession. This, combined with the fact that the other borders are all along distinctive natural features, has kept the Avantese expansion in check, although they have recently expanded significantly into their wooded northwest, in a push for the Cretasnian capital. The Marsh Much of southeastern Avanta forms a single large marsh along the north of the Great River. Avantese troops are unable to effectively move across this land, and as such the area is largely unpoliced and lawless. As a result, all sorts of acts are practiced there which would be shunned elsewhere. Cannibalism is one of the nicer ones of these. The people are still largely tribal, with each tribe having its own customs and frequently attacking the other tribes. Unlike in Carendia where tribal separation is built in to official structures and the country's functioning, this area has such tribal separation solely because noone has ever managed to tame it. In the east of the area, near the sea, there are hideouts for smugglers, pirates and wanted gangs. Occasionally one of these groups will kidnap and rape a few women, settle down and form a new tribe. On the other hand, existing tribes are wiped out occasionally by intertribal warfare, keeping the number of tribes roughly steady over the long term. Wild stories abound in the rest of Avanta about monsters that live in this area. These are mostly untrue, however there are many monstrous beasts that do live in these parts, and the people are pretty monstrous too. geographical features Avanta is divided fairly neatly into three parts. In the northeast is the grassy plains from which the country originated. Through the middle of this runs the River Tarala and its tributaries. In the northwest is a wooded and hilly country. The Great River runs through this, although the west bank of this river is mostly in other countries. In the southeast is a marshland, which the Avantese don't really care much for (see section above). It is here that the two rivers meet. The People Social Organisation relationships with other countries Kadoria Republic of Volantia Cretasnia Bitter enemies. Whenever Avanta has captured a Cretasnian settlement, it has been totally destroyed, along with any roads in the area. There are no roads connecting the two countries, despite their long border, which is heavily disputed along almost its entire length. Anyone with heavy goods wishing to travel between the two countries must cross from Cretasnia into Kadoria, then over one of the bridges crossing the great river, then turn southwards to eastern Carendia, before crossing the pass in the Celestial Mountains. At this point they would turn southwards along the entire western edge of the mountains through Teyorlis until they reached the Grand Central Road into Avanta. Of course such a journey would rarely be carried out - Cretasnians and Avantese will never willingly buy the produce of the other, and both have a policy of shooting on sight towards people from the other nation. Carendia Teyorlis Soutartha Davasia Solafia Vincaril No formal relations exist between Avanta and Vincaril. Any trade is carried out through an intermediary from Carendia or Teyorlis. Category:Countries